Fall Tv Preview: Public Television

September 16, 2001|By HAL BOEDEKER TV Correspondent

Shows airing on public television stations WPBT-Ch. 2, WLRN-Ch. 17 and WXEL-Ch. 42: Africa: This eight-part documentary from Nature and National Geographic takes a panoramic look at the continent and its people. Starts Sunday.

Evolution: The people behind this eight-hour series say it could ease the controversy over evolution. The episode titles include "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," "The Evolutionary Arms Race" and "What About God?" Sept. 24-27.

American Experience: The series concludes Ric Burns' epic "New York" with episodes Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. "War Letters," based on Andrew Carroll's best seller, examines the writings of American soldiers from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War. It airs Nov. 11. Installments next year look at the Miss America Pageant, Mount Rushmore, the birth control pill, Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson.

Nova: The science series explains the "Search for a Safe Cigarette" on Oct. 2. Other titles include "18 Ways to Make a Baby," "Secrets of the Mind," "Sex: Unknown" and "Methuselah Tree."

Frontline: "American Porn" investigates U.S. corporations' surprising involvement in the pornography industry on Oct. 4. This season the documentary series also examines the behavior of teenagers, the tumultuous dot-com business and Hollywood's corporate-driven film industry.

Life 360: ABC News' Nightline and Oregon Public Broadcasting collaborate on this unusual series that explores contemporary culture. The program draws on journalism, performance and personal narrative. Michel Martin of ABC News hosts. Oct. 5.

Masterpiece Theatre: The long-running dramatic series offers a new version of The Merchant of Venice (Oct. 8), a contemporary Othello (next year) and Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart (Oct. 15). The Cazalets is a six-hour drama about a British family on the eve of World War II (starts Oct. 22). Albert Finney plays the title character in My Uncle Silas (Nov. 26).

Local News: The five-part documentary takes viewers inside WCNC-TV in Charlotte, N.C., to see how ratings, competition and corporate ownership affect newscasts. October.

American Family: PBS hails this as the first Latino drama series to air on broadcast television. Edward James Olmos and Raquel Welch lead the cast in the show from film director Gregory Nava (El Norte). January.

Mark Twain: Ken Burns can make short films too. After the epic Jazz, he offers a two-part biography on the author who gave us Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. January.

Frontier House: Three families endure 1883 conditions on the Montana frontier in this reality series from the makers of The 1900 House.